A Cruise On The Line
by Aoi24
Summary: Drabbles and excerpts. Reposts from LJ chaos thread. Multiple characters, themes and prompts. Ace, Dragon, Garp, Luffy, Sanji, Straw-hats, Zoro, Usopp, End of Oc trilogy. COMPLETE
1. Burn

Get on over to the chaos thread and spread the love people!

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Prompt: Burn

Character(s): Ace

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Ace was proud of his Devil Fruit. It was rare, powerful and feared. Oh gods was it feared.

When he had first chanced his luck (for they hadn't known what kind it was) there had been a brief moment where he thought he tasted his death. A gasp of heat before an intense, terrifying burning fire began racing throughout his body. A flicker of fear touched him there before the change was complete.

In the barest moment between the taste of the fruit and the complete transfiguration of his body Ace had scented a familiar smell.

That dreadful night in the Gray Terminal, where he had first understood the monstrous cruelty that the Tenryuubito left in their wake, the night they had burned the entire area and all those trapped within. The smell, the taste that had lingered in the air for months afterwards. He could never mistake the presence of charred flesh.

The first time he fought with his new powers he had frozen, just for a moment. Those screams, that smell, the sound of his fire crackling over living flesh. It haunted his nightmares for months.

It eventually came to pass that the smell and the sounds became so familiar that he tuned them out and carried on his way. For something that had once nearly claimed his life and limb he had truly mastered fire.

He fought on, a firey flare lighting up his trail across the oceans, the old fears forgotten and pushed to the darkest recesses of his mind. It wasn't until he got cocky, was careless and then one of his nakama was screaming, their flesh was sizzling and he was staring in horror at what he'd done. The charred trail he'd burned in his wake.


	2. Carry On My Wayward Son

Prompt: Carry On My Wayward Son

Character(s): Dragon, Garp, Luffy

* * *

When Luffy was born, Dragon was the one who held him, named him and blessed him. This was the only interaction he would have with his son for the next seventeen years.

She had been in not fit condition to do any of these things. She had glanced blearily down at the bundle resting upon her chest before looking back to him and weakly squeezing his fingers.

Strangely enough, some would believe, Dragon didn't hate Luffy. It wasn't the fault of the child that she had died and being the sort of man he was, he could see it so clearly that denial was impossible.

But Dragon had a revolution to plan, children of the entire world to liberate and men to pull to their own two feet. He didn't hate his son, but he was not the centre of his world by any means.

Luffy was committed to the arms of his grandfather who brought him back to their hometown.

Garp had sniffed and given Luffy a stuffed monkey to play with, which the child promptly set about trying to swallow whole, and rocked him while he regarded his only child.

"You've lost weight." He snapped "Doesn't heading a glorious revolution allow you to eat right?"

Dragon coughed delicately to hide his amusement. Ten years and that's the first thing his father says to him. He can't say he's surprised though.

Garp eyes the child suspiciously as it chews happily on the head of the stuffed animal.

"So why isn't he committed to the care of his Mother?" Garps tone suggests that he already has a good idea but he wants Dragon to admit it and see if his son could still be upfront with him despite his cloak of secrecy.

"She's dead. A bleed in childbirth."

Garp blinked, slightly taken aback.

Dragon grinned dangerously "You would have liked her. She was a 'D' too. Much more like you than me though. Utterly reckless."

Garp laughed boisterously and absentmindedly poked the child with one of his enormous meaty fingers allowing the infant to attempt to teethe on it. "Got you good, did she? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

The older man stared gravely at his grandson for a moment.

"I've seen that sort of thing happen far too often for my liking." He muttered.

"You need to take him." Dragon murmured "Even if I was so inclined to drop my dreams, my beliefs, my responsibilities and my 'will' as this world is now I cannot do anything for him."

Garp made a non-committal noise and pretended he didn't know precisely what Dragon was talking about.

"We wouldn't have such damn problems if you'd simply joined the Marines like me!" he snapped.

Dragon merely smiled in an amused manner "it's not the Marines themselves I object to, merely the autocracy they uphold and the inherent 'wrongness' that is the absolute rule and thought policing of the Gorousei."

Garp pulled a hideous face and Luffy clapped his hands in delight. "I'll make this boy into ten times the marine you could have been brat!"

Dragon, if it was at all possible, looked even more amused. "You can try but at the end of the day he'll do what everyone in our 'clan' does."

"I'll still give it a damn good try!" Garp roared.

Dragon turned to leave "Like you did with me?"

"Cheeky brat."

"Do what you will but you know well that the boy will follow his own path, same as any of us."

Garp grimaced and watched as his son vanish in a whoosh of Devil Fruit abilities. He stood and watched the spot where he had last seen him. Luffy stirred in his arms and he made his way back to his ship.

Dragon would do as he willed, as would Garp. Luffy, well he remained to be seen but if he was truly the son of his son he would go his own way.


	3. Mother Hen

Prompt: Mother Hen

Character(s): Sanji, Strawhats

* * *

You did not mess with Sanjis kitchen. That was the iron clad, seastone lined rule of the ship and you had better have a damn good reason for challenging this law.

You see, the kitchen and the pantry weren't just a matter of 'my territory, keep out and insert snarling sounds about this stage of the proprietary speech' for Sanji. It was a matter of survival.

While you could technically survive on whatever you fish up while at sea that was not conducive to a healthy body and entirely dependant on your chances of actually catching something. People had certainly died of thirst on the ocean and Sanji knew for a fact that they could starve too.

This was his first logical argument for protecting the food supplies so fiercely. Although, perhaps we should take a moment to inform the uninitiated that Sanji does not make the 'logical argument and debate opener' his first port of call on these matters. He invariably uses the word shitty and proceeds to demonstrate the marvellous craftsmanship of his custom-made shoes.

Sanji was in charge of food and you had damn well better remember that. Which meant that no one else on the ship was even potentially capable of assembling the lunchboxes.

Luffy got meat, lots' of meat. There was plain roasted hanks of beef (because Luffy loved them best of all), Fowls stuffed with vegetables (to ensure Luffy got his vitamins and minerals) and various varieties of sea king and fish diced, stewed and generally mixed up into tasty and nutritious dishes and stored in easy-to-open containers. Sanji also packed, into this protein rich lunchbox, a large bottle of a sweet fruity drink that not only provided a hit of Vitamin C but was delicious too.

Usopp got sandwiches. The filling was generally determined based on what the sniper had eaten the day before and what he hadn't eaten in a while. Sanji would quickly calculate it out in his head while taking a smoke break. No mushrooms ever went into the lunchbox (because Sanji couldn't guarantee that he'd be there to force the shitty sniper not to waster good food.)

Choppers' was sweet, at the very least. Sanji liked to create a sakura theme within as well just to make the youngest brother grin and wiggle.

Brooke, they had discovered, didn't actually need any food but nonetheless Sanji packed him three bottles of milk, a thermos of tea and a selection of particularly flavoursome goodies so the musician could get the most out of it.

Zoro frequently got onigiri stuffed with whatever Sanji felt would best fill his dietary needs and several bottles of the alcohol he preferred (which Sanji referred to as filth, tripe and dishwater while slipping him a bottle of decent quality liquor.)

Franky got a tasty, filling meal that provided lots of energy and a six pack of cola. Sanji understood the necessities and practical aspect of food very well.

Nami got a selection of light and nutritious fruity flavoured snacks. Filling and entirely healthy with a nice sweet dessert incorporating citrus fruits. Sanji looked after the ladies.

Robin's lunchbox was something akin to the lunch of a high class lady. Sanji enclosed a thermos (of love) filled with pitch black coffee, strong enough to sober up Zoro on the rare occasions he got drunk. (Sanji always enclosed little packets of milk, sugar and cream. Just in case Robin ever felt like using them.)

His own lunchbox was nutritious and delicious like everything he cooked but it was merely composed of the leftovers from the other lunch. It was always the last one he made, once all of his family had been fed. He frequently double-checked to make sure they were suitable before sending them off on their adventures.

Nami laughed to herself when she watched him fret over their lunches like an anxious mother. But it was undeniable that they were excellent works of art and love. His crew agreed too. Luffy had unleashed brutal and furious wrath a few islands ago when an opponent tried to steal his 'special Sanji lunchbox'. They were just that good.


	4. Rubber Duckies

Prompt: Rubber Duckies

Character(s): Zoro, Strawhats.

* * *

Zoro was a mans' man. A broad, muscled, testosterone-filled mountain of masculinity. He was sweaty and smelly to boot.

In fact he exuded so much 'manliness' after a decent workout that the shapely foot had been put down and Zoro had been ordered (under pain of becoming a teetotaller) to bathe after _each_ and _every_ session because despite being pirates a certain level of hygiene was upheld on their ship.

Zoro didn't particularly mind, a bath was relaxing and he didn't dislike being clean. He had neglected to bathe _once_ in favour of lunch and Nami had never let him forget it.

Mindful of the potential nagging and looking forward to a nice long soak he sauntered into the baths, shutting the door firmly behind him. He immediately realised that he had the rare and relaxing occasion of having the baths _completely_ to himself.

Such a rarefied opportunity should not be wasted. Zoro quickly dumped his sweaty, smelly garments (with many suspicious stains that may or may not have been blood) and scrubbed himself clean.

Keeping a wary eye out, the now pink and clean swordsman crept to the cupboards at the far side of the room, which was ostensibly for bathing supplies, and carefully reached past all the paraphanalia to retrieve a small green object.

Treasure in hand, Zoro sank gratefully into the bath before releasing the green item to bob up towards the top of water, bobbing along the ripples he'd created. The bright green duck bobbed happily along the waters under the amused gaze of the swordsman. He occasionally poked it with his finger to set it sailing across the waters.

His mouth twitched in amusement and he smiled idly, watching the rubber drake bob across the waters. It was a strangely relaxing sight, one that he never understood, but appreciated nonetheless.

The unwelcome sound of someone entering broke the swordsman from his reverie and he jerked his head around in time to see Usopp, showercap in place, gaping at his crewmate or, more specifically, his aquatic companion.

Despite the pleasant warmth of the bathwater Zoro broke out in a cold sweat. Usopp began trembling and his toiletries clattered to the ground with an audible squeak.

'Squeak?' Zoro blinked and glanced down at the ground. Amongst the bottles of soap and sponges lay a bright yellow rubber duck.

They never spoke of it but it was clear that they'd reached an understanding. Across the lightly steaming bathwater bobbed two rubber duckies.


	5. Mark Of Pride

A final blast at my AU born in previous chaos threads (because three is a good number for these things) wherein Gin is a cantankerous old man who saves and raises a boy before booting him off the ship in search of (mis)adventures. (Reposted in my journal. Part One: Hoist the Colours, Part Two: Beyond the Horizon.)

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Prompt: Mark of Pride.

Character(s): OCs, reference to Canon Characters.

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**EDIT:** I've gotten a lot of questions that indicate that _no-one_ is reading the authors note above. Let me say it once more.

This is part three of a (complete) trilogy set roughly sixty years (therabouts) after the series. It was born out of an ironic thought of GIn outliving everyone else and glumly watching the next generation take over.

It all makes _much_ more sense if you read the first two parts (check my profile) and thus see where these next gen kids sprung out of.

**Part One**: Chaos on the high seas: Hoist the colours.

**Part Two**: Sailing through the unexpected: Beyond the horizon.

* * *

While Lico was a capable person never let it be said he had much common sense or was actually, y'know, _smart_.

If Gin had been anyone or anywhere else Lico would have died. Fortunately for the undernourished streetrat the man may have been grumpy as hell but he understood the worth of compassion.

Lico sometimes forgets this when he remembers being thrown through walls, masts and occasionally onto a pirate ship where he instructed not to come home until he has defeated them all.

He had immersed himself in a state of mind that pretty much assumed that they would always be together, sailing across the seas and learning useful things to the point that he found himself feeling slightly betrayed when he stood with the water sloshing around his calves while Gin sailed away from Syrup island.

Banchina had come running down to the shore, having seen their ship approach, and stood silently behind him as he stared blankly out to the now clear horizon. The pain clutching his chest, he secretly knew but was not yet willing to acknowledge, was the beginnings of grief because, without a doubt, it would be the last time he'd see his grandfather alive.

=A=

Lico peered at the carving, it seemed offensively cheerful.

"It's a pony." He stated.

Banchina wrinkled her nose "It's a water-horse."

"How is that different from a regular horse?"

She nodded thoughtfully, tapped her finger on her chin before lightly smacking the back of his head. "Don't question the decor, just sail it."

"Just sail it. Right, that I can do."

=A=

At the age of seventeen Caput had curves that could be legally classified as lethal weapons. She claimed it was only fair since she had horribly disfiguring scars across her face.

Interested parties should know that the bachelorette likes cooking, dancing, her _extremely violent _kick based martial arts and her ambition in life was to follow in the footsteps of her professional forefathers and visit the infamous All Blue where her adoptive Uncle was in residence, studying the ocean and its' currents.

It should also be noted that she was bored out of her skull so when her long time friends Lico and Banchina sailed up to the Baratie in an eccentric looking caravel she was tossing her luggage onboard before they'd even stopped. Lico caught her luggage with his face and Caput ducked into the restaurant to say goodbye to her adoptive father before quickly hopping onto the ship.

The head chef of the Baratie pranced out to say goodbye twirling and dancing while he periodically threatened Lico with an end that involved skewers, a good sauce and a deep pit barbecue if something happened to Caput-chwan.

He passed Caput a well wrapped gift and asked her to deliver it to his older brother when she reached All Blue because, he grinned wickedly when he said this, she was _his_ daughter and they would definitely reach that far.

=A=

"Are we pirates?"

Lico looked up from his ropes and frowned "I think so…Jiji told me to go be a pirate at any rate and I'm a bit afraid at what he'll do to me if I _don't_ do something along those lines."

Caput just cackled from out of the door of the galley. Banchina sighed and continued cleaning her gun.

"We should think of a design for a flag then."

"Like what?" Caput swayed out with a lunch tray "Something fearsome or something cute?"

The other girl chewed on her lip "Something that represents _us_. Like the one Uso-jii-chan used when he was with the Straw-hats."

Caput slid a drink in front of the other girl and frowned "Something that represents our captain then, I suppose? Wait…Lico, are you our pirate captain?"

The teenage boy blinked at her with a genuinely baffled expression. "I don't know. Am I?"

"hmm." Banchina merely rolled her eyes and sipped on her drink "Hey, this is really good!"

Caput sniffed regally "But of course. I _am_ a fully trained and accredited chef of the Baratie. That's a recipe of my adopted grandfather. I call it 'La mellorine'"

=A=

The trio had no specific plans. (Banchina wanted to see the world. Caput wanted to reach All Blue. Lico didn't know, he just wanted to keep sailing but he did point out that they needed more people to keep the _Kelpie_ running.)

So the Grand Line became their game plan. At any rate, they'd need to head there to reach All Blue.

On their way to Loguetown they'd stopped on some insignificant little island that they'd only visited since the atlas had mapped it as inhabited and they needed supplies.

They'd passed the boy three or four times before Lico decided to go and introduce himself. (Caput and Banchina were his homegirls but there was only so much he could take before he began to fear Oestrogen poisoning.)

Claiomh (as he had eventually been introduced) carried a black sword that was taller than him and, as it transpired, had been wandering up and down the same patch of town simply because he had the worst sense of direction since the advent of the 'Pirate Hunter' himself. The young man was also a bit of a prude so Caput distracted him by pressing herself up against his well-muscled arm and asking him back to the ship for dinner. Lico 'rescued' the furiously blushing swordsman and drew him into conversation.

Half an hour later Claiomh found himself sat in the galley of the 'as-of-yet-unnamed' pirates eating a delicious meal and enjoying a conversation with people who supported his ambitions and were heading towards the Grand Line.

Twenty years later he still couldn't figure out how he got to that position. He didn't mind it though.

=A=

"So, we're basically operating on the premise that Lico is the captain but we still need a flag." Caput pouted and crossed her legs, apparently unperturbed by the height of her seat.

Lico blinked and looked up from where he was making a fishing net for sea kings.

"I suppose so." Banchina caught her lip between her teeth and twisted the intricate cats' cradle in her fingers further, completely unmoved about the movement of her seat. "He's definitely the only sailor about here at any rate."

Claiomh grunted and merely continued with his weights lifting the stack with the two girls perched on the deckchairs on top indicating that he didn't really care.

"We're sailing into the Grand Line and _that's_ what you're worried about?" Lico snapped. I ought to feed you to a sea king!"

Caput tapped her heel in a taunting manner and sneered. "Try it, sailing man!"

=A=

Loguetown was no different than the first time Lico had seen it except this time instead of being dragged around by the scruff of his neck he was walking around with his friends.

He took them all to see the execution stand. (Claiomh nearly got lost nine times. How the hell he did that was beyond Lico.) Banchina had heard multiple stories about the brilliance and insanity of the last Pirate King from her ailing grandfather.

"Did you ever think about becoming Pirate King?" she murmured.

Lico stared at the scaffold and for a moment he almost thought he could see someone grinning down at him. "No, not specifically. I just wanted to see the world with my nakama."

There was a gap in the crowd around them, probably due to the monstrous black sword Claiomh had on his back.

"Why not?" Claiomh said "If you want to protect your friends you really want to be the absolute best don't you?"

Lico blinked at the swordsman and clenched his fist, relishing the tingle of heat dancing beneath his skin. "That's a good point."

=A=

When Marco-the-phoenix appeared on the prow of their ship Banchina squealed and passed out backwards.

A red-faced Claiomh caught the star-struck sniper and shuffled uncomfortably as he'd much prefer to stare at the intruder in a threatening manner or continue with his training.

Lico bounded up for a hug, because even though he frequently did things that could qualify him for being, to quote Caput, 'a bit of a dick' Marco had always been his reliable old uncle (despite not looking a day over thirty) and he would always be happy to see him.

Even if he was the bearer of the bad news Lico had been expecting since Gin had regarded him grimly and forced him off the ship on Syrup island.

=A=

Caput sat the plate down in front of him and he looked up blearily from where he had been going over the same section of sail over and over again.

"You should eat."

"Ah." Lico mumbled as he reached for the plate. "I'll be fine. I was expecting this."

She leaned back on her heel and examined him. "You're telling me that you're perfectly alright with Gin being gone?"

"As much as I could be." He looked up from his dinnerplate "I knew this was coming. Afterall, this is exactly why he threw me off the boat."

=A=

It wasn't the first time they'd been attacked by pirates. They'd yet to settle on a pirate emblem so most on the Line assumed they were merely merchants.

It was a mistake made once and only once.

Banchina was a keen shot and had practised her sniping all her life.

Caput had learned her martial arts at the custom made heels of the Baratie chefs.

Claiomh didn't just carry that big-ass sword for show.

Lico had been brawling since he was a kid and had been raised by one seriously tough old son of a bitch who thought tossing a child onto a pirate ship was an acceptable way to spend an afternoon.

They were more than a match for most that crossed their paths. At least, they had _thought_ they were.

=A=

His head spun and his vision wavered. Lico blinked, dazed, as blood trickled into his eyes. These guys, where had they come out of? They were so strong…

Claiomh was still fighting furiously but he was hampered by his defence of Banchina. The girl was still and blood was spattered nearby. Lico groggily feared she had suffered worse than a concussion.

Caput was still moving, a whirling dervish of leather and steel, smoke trailing in the aftermath of her heels. Until a Devil Fruit use caught her with his Logia. The Moku-Moku no mi?

Claiomh took a cut to his arm as he desperately tried to defend his fallen crewmate and tackle his opponent at the same time. Caput flailed desperately, trying in vain to escape the smokey tendrils.

Someone grabbed him by his hair and held a blade to his throat shouting at his friends to lay down their arms.

Oh, how strange. Now it seemed as if everything was turning red.

=A=

"_I don't like it. It feels strange."_

_Gin gave him a flat, expressionless look before taking a drink of his grog which was his way of telling the child that he had just said something so painfully stupid that Gin needed to soothe his headache via the application of additional booze._

_Lico scowled and slapped his palms on the table "I'd much rather be able to swim than use this stupid fruit!"_

_Gin emptied his drink after another 'oh-gods-you're-stupid' expression. "Most People on the seas would give everything they had and pillage an additional eight islands as payment for one of those fruits."_

_Lico merely pouted silently._

_Gin sighed and massaged his temples with one hand. "I'll admit that a Devil Fruit is really only as good as the one using it. I mean look at the last Pirate King. He had the Gum-Gum fruit! What a ridiculous power and yet he conquered the Grand Line with it."_

"_Is there a point here Jiji?"_

_Gin threw a cup at him. "Use that power to protect your comrades. Even if you hate it, you will use it to protect what's precious to you._

_The boy stared at the old man in consternation as he stood up, rubbing his aching hip. He was dubious but the old man had yet to actually lie to him._

=A=

When it was over, their enemies routed and their wounds bandaged they sat in a circle and stared at Lico until he was as red as his transformed state.

Banchina broke the silence "So, when were you going to tell us you had such a bad-ass Devil Fruit?"

Claiomh blinked ponderously "No-one's accomplished the feat since the days of the 'uncrowned king', so…could I slay you?"

Caput merely fell back and laughed hysterically. "That's it! The Flag is going to be based on that!"

Lico snorted "Fine, go nuts. I've decided something anyway. I'm going to be Pirate King. Stronger than Roger, Better than Luffy. I'm going to be that strong because I need to be at least that strong."

Claiomh laughed "Well, I'm going to be the strongest swordsman in the world so anything less would be embarrassing."

"I'm going to see this entire world." Banchina said.

"Well, I 'm going to party in All Blue. I have to deliver a package there anyway." Caput deadpanned.

Lico grinned before standing up "Anything less and Jiji would be disappointed, wouldn't he? Let's go recruit ourselves some nakama. I, for one, would rather like a musician."


End file.
